Medicines management

Medicines Management

Prescribing is the most common therapeutic intervention which takes place in the NHS. The NHS spends £11 billion per year on drugs and 85% of this spend takes place in general practice. Primary care medicines usage has increased by 50% over the last 15 years with the diagnosis and treatment of more conditions and the use of newer, more expensive drugs.

The NHS North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group has a small Medicines Management team which works closely with GPs and local health providers to ensure consistency and effectiveness in prescribing practice. The Medicines Management team uses its experience and knowledge of medicines to ensure that patients within North Kirklees get the medicines they need to effectively manage their condition.

We have a Medicines Strategy Group which includes GPs, a practice nurse and a practice manager from our member practices, along with pharmacists from the main health providers in North Kirklees. The Medicines Strategy Group provides oversight and scrutiny of the Medicines Management work programme and ensures that NHS North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group has the appropriate governance processes, guidelines and commissioning policies in place to enable the population of North Kirklees to gain optimal benefit from medicines.

Did you know?

It is estimated that up to £300 million worth of medicines is wasted every year unnecessarily within the NHS.

Up to 50% of patients do not take the medicines they have been prescribed

The medicines management team tackles these issues and ensures that the local budget is used to best effect, reducing the waste of valuable NHS resources.